80 



periods of the surface of our planet, the lines of the poet were then, 

 in part at least, as applicable as now, when he says — 



" See through this air, this ocean and this earth, 

 All matter quick and bursting into birth." 



Neither will the cloud of impenetrable mystery which hangs over 

 the earlier changes of the earth's surface, prevent the accurate obser- 

 ver of the countless reliquiae of its former wonders from admiring the 

 same indications of infinite wisdom and power, which still captivate 

 the devout philosopher in his investigation of those teeming myriads 

 of living animalcules, now existing in almost every modification of 

 matter, which clothes its present surface with beauty, fertility and 

 abundance. 



Clapham, Surrey, 



February 16, 1842. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE VIII. 



